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Mariners make 30 selections on day three of the First-Year player draft

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Press Release |

Seattle Mariners Director of Amateur Scouting Tom McNamara announced today that the club selected 40 players in the 2013 Major League Baseball's First-Year player draft, highlighted by their first pick, third baseman DJ Peterson, who was the 12th overall pick in the draft.

"Overall, we're very pleased with the athleticism, talent level and character of the players we drafted," McNamara said. "Our scouts did an excellent job traveling all over the country finding the top talent at both the high school and college levels. We look forward to getting many of these young men signed and in uniform."

The Mariners drafted 4 catchers, 14 infielders (3 1B, 4 3B, 7 SS), and 6 outfielders. Seattle selected third baseman DJ Peterson from the University of New Mexico (12th overall) with their first pick the 2013 draft. Of the 24 position players selected, 11 are left-handed hitters.

Seattle selected 16 pitchers in the draft, including 13 pitchers between the 4th and 27th rounds. The Mariners selected 8 right-handed pitchers and 8 left-handed pitchers. Right-handed pitcher Zack Littell (11th round) from Eastern Alamance High School in Mebane, NC was the first high school pitcher selected by the Mariners, while right-handed pitcher Ryan Hortsman (4th round) from St. Johns University was the first college pitcher drafted by Seattle. In all, 14 of the 16 pitchers selected by Seattle were college pitchers.

The Mariners selected 27 college players in the draft, including 18 straight college players selected from the 14th through 31st rounds. At 17-year-old, Lachlan Fontaine (13th round) out of Sutherland Secondary School in North Vancouver, BC, Canada, was the youngest player the Mariners selected. Eight of the high school players selected by the Mariners in the draft were taken in the final nine rounds.

With the 12th-round selection the Mariners drafted first baseman Justin Seager out of University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Seager, who is from Kannapolis, NC, is the younger brother of Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager. His younger brother, Corey, was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round of the 2012 First-Year Player draft and is currently playing for Single-A Great Lakes in the Midwest League. Seager was Atlantic 10 Conference Co-Player of the Year and First-Team All-Conference after batting .351 (79x225) with 46 runs scored, 22 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs and 40 RBI in 60 games during his junior season for the 49ers.

The Mariners selected Shortstop Taylor Snyder out of Salem Hills High School in Elk Ridge, UT, with their 34th pick and selected his brother third baseman JC Snyder out of Salt Lake Community College in 36th round. Taylor and JC are the sons of Mariners Double-A Jackson hitting coach and former Major League infielder, Cory Snyder. Taylor hit .432 (43x74) with 34 runs scored, 6 doubles, 11 home runs and 37 RBI in 21 games, while leading Salem Hills to a State Championship during his senior season. JC hit .284 (36x162) with 37 runs scored, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs and 35 RBI in 54 games with the Bruins in 2013. Taylro and JC are the first brothers drafted in the same year and by the same team since Tim (1st) and Jeremy Beckham (17th) in 2008 by Tampa Bay.

The Mariners selected third baseman DJ Peterson in the first round of the draft, while his younger brother Dustin, a senior shortstop out Gilbert High School, was selected in the 2nd round by San Diego (50th overall). They are the first set of brothers to be drafted within the first two rounds in the same year since J.D. (Philadelphia) and Tim Drew (Cleveland) were both selected in the first round in 1997.

Seattle selected outfielder Austin Wilson (2nd round) and shortstop Lonnie Kauppila (16th round) teammates from the Stanford University. The Mariners also selected third baseman DJ Peterson (1st round) and left-handed pitcher William Mathis (25th round), both teammates at University of New Mexico. With the 33rd and 35th selections in the draft, Seattle drafted teammates Corey Ray (OF) and Marshawn Taylor (SS) out of Simeon Career Academy in Chicago, IL.

The Mariners selected 5 players with ties to Washington State in the 2013 June draft: LHP Tyler Olson from Gonzaga University (7th-round), shortstop Jordan Cowan (37th round) out of Kentlake High School, in Kent, WA, third baseman Michael Sexton (38th) from Rogers High School in Puyallup, WA, right-hand pitcher Sam Hellinger (39th round) out of West Seattle High School in Seattle, WA, and catcher Mike McCann (40th round) out of Columbia River High School in Vancouver, WA. Olson was name West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year, after going 9-4 with a 2.48 (23 ER, 101.2 IP) in 16 games, 14 starts as a fifth-year senior with the Bulldogs. He graduated from University High School in Spokane, WA in June, 2008. Hellinger is the son of Mariners Director of Ticket Sales Bob Hellinger. Sam led West Seattle High School to second place finish in the 3A State Championship. Hellinger was a unanimous choice as Metro League MVP in 2013.

The Mariners selected 8 players (rounds 3-10) on Friday afternoon. Seattle had two picks in the draft on Thursday, highlighted by their first overall selection third baseman DJ Peterson (12th overall). Peterson was named Mountain West Co-Player of the Year with teammate Mitch Garver for the second straight season in 2013. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound infielder won the MW overall triple crown for the second year in a row, batting .408 (89x218) with 68 runs scored, 25 doubles, 4 triples, 18 home runs and 72 RBI in 55 starts during his junior season. Peterson currently ranks third in the nation in home runs, while ranking fourth average (.408) and in RBI (72). In Baseball America's annual Best Tools survey of the top 100 prospects entering the draft, Peterson was named as the best pure hitter and the second-best power hitter and strike-zone judgment amongst all college players. Peterson was rated as the 15th-best prospect heading into the 2013 draft.